


lovesick

by raekentheory



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Liam gets a cold, Love Confessions, M/M, Sick Fic, Temporarily Human Liam, Theo takes care of him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-13 21:39:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14121372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raekentheory/pseuds/raekentheory
Summary: When Liam gets hit by a witch's spell that temporarily strips him of his werewolf abilities, the first thing he does is catch a cold. Thankfully, Theo is there to take care of him.





	lovesick

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tabbytabbytabby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/gifts).



> For Tabby, who wanted sick fic like 84 years ago. Shoutout to the discord for cheerleading my ass through it.
> 
> Title from BANKS' _Lovesick_.

Sickness isn’t ever really a worry when you’re a werewolf. Sure, there’s wolfsbane poisoning, and illnesses _designed_ for you by some madman in a lab. But disease? Organ failure? The common cold? Not really an issue. It removes one of the biggest, mortal worries from the equation.

At least, until the day you’re struck by a witch’s spell and temporarily depowered.

Basically human.

For three absolutely miserable days.

Technically, it’s been four, but the first day hadn’t been so bad. Some awkward stumbling as Liam re-adjusted to life without supernatural reflexes, and a lot of complaining over the phone to Scott, who’d called the moment he felt their pack bond stutter out. But Theo and Mason and Corey had all promised the alpha they’d look after him until it wore off (and Deaton _swore_ it would, in no time at all) and he figured he’d be okay.

At least until he’d gotten unfairly paired with the grossest kid in school for Biology. Sickly Stanley.

And not like, cool-sick. Sick-sick. The kind of sick where you have your own box of tissues on the corner of your desk, where no one ever sits with you for fear of catching your germs, where your nose is just sort of permanently red and everyone wonders _why_ you aren’t at home when you’re a walking petri dish of infection.

The kind of sick Liam hasn’t had to worry about since taking the Bite.

Which means he thought absolutely nothing of it when he touched the beaker Stanley moved two seconds prior. Or when they shared the same pen to scribble notes for their lab, because Liam had forgotten his _as usual_. Or when Stanley sneezed and sprayed mucus _all over_ both their textbooks. He’d just made a face, wiped it away with his sleeve, and glared at the clock, trying to _will_ the end of the school day to come faster.

It’s not until he’d woken up the next morning unable to breathe through his nose, face bright red and sweat pooling _everywhere_ that he realized what had happened. He’d known immediately what was wrong, long before Theo had come knocking on his door to get up for school and he’d stumbled past him into the bathroom to throw up instead of get ready.

He’d ended up throwing several toilet paper rolls at Theo’s head, in an effort to make the asshole stop _laughing_. When that hadn’t worked, he’d reached blindly for the plunger, and the resulting crash had drawn a _very_ disapproving Jenna to them. She’d shooed Theo away instantly, ushering him off to school with a stern gaze, and then sat with Liam, brushing his hair back as he told her about their encounter with the witch on the weekend.

She’d been the one to point out that no werewolf abilities likely meant a renewed and _far_ weaker immune system. And then she’d rubbed his back as he’d groaned miserably, and thrown up a second time.

That had been two days ago, and Liam’s still very much human. And very sick.

He’s gone through two boxes of tissues in as many days, and he’s pretty sure he’s going to _die_ choking on his own snot before the spell wears off. Everything _aches_ , and he can’t even play video games because looking at _anything_ other than his stupid fucking ceiling makes his head hurts and this is the _worst_.

Everything is awful.

He wishes Scott were here. Liam wishes anyone were, really. He’s barely even seen his parents in two days, neither wanting to pass this on to their clients and patients. And he does not, in fact, count FaceTiming Mason and Corey as _seeing_ them. But neither had wanted to be within ten feet of him, and really, he didn’t blame them.

The only person who _should_ have been here is Theo, but, well… the asshole had gotten himself banned for the foreseeable future the moment he’d gotten home from school the first day. He’d come bearing Liam’s homework, and had offered help doing it, but within ten minutes had called him _Rudolph the Snot-Nosed Reindeer_ and _Puke-ahontas_ and gotten a lamp thrown at his head.

So until his werewolf abilities came back and he could punch him for being a dick, Liam had kicked out his only friend with an immune system capable of avoiding this… _plague_.

And he’s beginning to regret it, honestly. Because he’s so fucking _bored_.

And hungry, if his grumbling stomach is anything to go by.

“Ugh.” He rolls over and hides his head under the blankets. He’d gotten lucky the last two days, because his mother had been working on a case from home. And had therefore been able to make and bring him food.

But today, well. Liam groans into his pillow.

He doesn’t want to get up, let alone attempt the thirteen steps to the first floor, and the six it’ll take him to get to the fridge.

His stomach growls again at the thought of the large, metal food box. “Ugh,” he says again, and decides he can’t put it off any longer. He rolls to his left, and falls out of bed in a tangle of blankets and used tissues. He ignores the sting and ache in his knees and elbows as he lands harder than expected on his floor, then pushes himself to his feet.

Liam sways immediately, blinking back the spots in his vision. Being upright _sucks_.

Slowly, carefully, he exits his room and stomps downstairs. His hand grips the banister tightly and eventually, he makes it to the kitchen. It’s not until he opens the fridge that he realizes his mistake.

“Fuck,” he groans, forehead thumping against the door. For a moment, he basks in the cool air washing over him from the inside of the very bare fridge. “It’s Thursday.”

The night his mother typically does groceries on the way home from her office. Which means until then, he’s doomed, because there’s not even an apple in sight, or anything. Just condiments and milk he’s not touching until his nose stops being stuffed like turkey on Thanksgiving.

He goes to slam the door closed with a huff, which is strike two. Apparently the small intake of breath is all his body needs to set it off. He sneezes horrifically, spraying snot all over the inside of the fridge.

“Why me?” Liam whines pitifully. He trudges over to the paper towel holder and rips a few pieces free, returning to the fridge. He’s wiped nearly everything down by the time he notices the bottle of cough syrup in the door. _Finally_ , a bit of luck.

His mother has been giving him spoonfuls every few hours or so all week, insisting that they should follow bottle directions given his recently lowered immune system and tolerance for things. But Liam’s tired of not being able to breathe. And coughing up the entirety of his lungs. And being _gross_.

So he finds himself uncapping the bottle of NyQuil, and tilting it up to lips to chug it’s contents. In their entirety. Without stopping.

Not even when the front door opens, and the rustle of a grocery bag draws his attention to Theo. The older boy’s just stepped inside and is toeing off his shoes when he stills, likely smelling Liam outside of his room for the first time in days. He glances right, into the kitchen, and their eyes lock.

Theo’s brows rise up, disappearing beneath disheveled bangs, as he watches Liam finish the bottle. Without breaking eye contact, he sets it on the counter, bumping the fridge closed with his hip. He takes one look at Theo and frowns.

Theo tilts his head slightly, lips twitching upwards. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

Liam blinks and rubs his eyes, just in case he’s seeing things. “Shouldn’t you be at school? What are you doing home in the middle of the day?”

Theo holds up the grocery bag, kicking the front door closed behind him. “It’s Thursday, and I know Jenna went into work so… I bought you soup.”

“You…bought me soup?” Liam’s heart flutters a little in his throat, and he immediately clears it in an attempt to mask it.

“And tissues, since we’re almost out,” Theo nods, coming into the kitchen and setting the bag on the counter with his keys. He stands there, looking mildly awkward as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “And uh, cough drops, and those little strips that are meant to help keep your nose clear. And some sort of… chest rub thing?”

His fingers wrap around the empty NyQuil bottle, and he holds it up, giving Liam an unimpressed stare. “Apparently, I should’ve also picked up more—” He pauses, spotting the wide-eyed, open-mouthed look the werewolf is giving him. “What?”

“You...You got all this for _me_?” Liam sniffles, peering inside the grocery bag.

When he looks up, there’s a light dusting of colour on Theo’s cheeks. He lifts one shoulder in a half-shrug. “You’re sick. And since I’m sort of the only one immune to your germs, I should probably help, or something.”

The fluttering in his chest flickers out, and his eyes narrow. “Gee, thanks,” he rolls his eyes, crossing his arms with a huff. It’s enough to cause a coughing fit to roll through him, and he doubles over. He feels the faint touch of Theo’s hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles that help ease him through it.

When his body stills a moment later and he goes to stand up straight, he gets lightheaded, and has to reach out and brace himself on the counter. Only, the counter feels warm and sort of squishy. It’s not until Theo chuckles that he realizes he’s grabbed the other boy’s arm, instead.

“You okay?” Theo asks.

“Yeah,” Liam nods, but winces as a sharp twinge reverberates through his head at the motion. “No. I feel sort of dizzy.”

Theo reaches up, hand cold against the werewolf’s forehead. He goes momentarily cross-eyed staring up at it. “You might be running a fever,” the chimera explains.

“Great,” Liam hums. There’s waves of delicious heat rolling off the chimera, and Liam can’t help but lean into his touch. He’s been _so cold_ all goddamn week. “How do humans manage? Being sick is _awful_.”

“Liam?” Theo asks as Liam sinks forward, wrapping his arms around the older boy.

“What?” Liam mutters into his sweater. It’s warm. And fuzzy. He nuzzles into it, a happy hum vibrating through his whole body. He never allows himself this level of contact with Theo, constantly afraid that he’ll slip up and somehow reveal the feelings he keeps tightly locked away. The ones he’s managed to ignore since he forced the chimera to move in months ago.

“That bottle of NyQuil was almost full, wasn’t it?” Theo’s arm wraps tighter around his waist, squeezing him in a gentle hug.

“Might’ve been.” Is that why he feels sort of tingly everywhere?

“Come on.” Theo lets out a chuckle, breath ghosting over Liam’s head. “Let’s get you back to bed before you fall over.”

“M’not gonna fall,” he whispers. “You’re holding on.”

“Technically _you’re_ holding onto _me_ , but—”

 _Oh, god._ The werewolf detaches himself instantly, cheeks burning, suddenly realizing he had in fact been wrapped around the chimera like an octopus. He lets out a little squeak as his hip hits the counter, hard, and his arms pinwheel as he tips backwards.

Theo’s hand fists in the front of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks. He raises a single brow.

“Shut up,” Liam scowls, but he knows there’s far less bite to it than usual. Because the smirk on his lips is teasing, and there’s mirth dancing in the green of his eyes, and the look on his face? If the beta didn’t know any better, he’d say it was _fond_.

It causes a horrible blush to spread from his cheeks to his neck and lower still when he realizes he’s _staring_ at Theo like an idiot. It deepens horribly a moment later when his stomach lets loose a growl loud enough to rival that of any werewolf.

Theo smiles, letting go of Liam’s shirt in favour of offering him his hand. “I’ll help you upstairs and then bring you soup, yeah?”

He wants to ask the older boy why he’s being so nice, but the idea of soup and his warm bed sound _amazing_ , so he doesn’t. He lets Theo guide him, on hand on his arm, back up the stairs towards his room.

Well, halfway up. Which is where the beta’s legs unceremoniously fail him and give out.

Liam hisses as his knees hit the next step, stinging sharply. He crumples forward, and narrowly avoids cracking his forehead open when Theo, who thank god still has supernatural reflexes, reaches for him, looping an arm around his chest before he gets too far. He hangs there in what is essentially an awkward hug, with his back pressed against Theo chest, as the older boy supports his entire weight. His earlier blush returns with a vengeance.

The strength has entirely left his body, leaving him unable to do much more than whine, pathetically: “Why me?”

Theo chuckles, and he feels it reverberate through his whole body. “Easy there, princess. I got you.”

He feels Theo shift, arm sliding from around his chest to his back and before he’s fully realized what’s happening, the chimera has looped the other one under his knees. He lifts him up bridal style, cradling Liam against his chest, and the beta is pretty sure he’s never been more mortified in his entire life. Can you die from embarrassment? He’s sure he’s about to find out.

“Please, shut up,” he mumbles, hiding his face in the crook of Theo’s neck to keep the other boy from seeing the fierce blush he’s sporting. He feels the chimera stiffen, and hears the way his heart rate picks up just a tiny bit. He remains blessedly silent the rest of the way up.

Theo lays him gently into bed, then rolls his eyes at the pile of blankets on the floor. He stoops to pick them up, and warm weight settles over Liam a moment later. He burrows into them, peeking his head out just in time to see the doorway framing Theo’s back.

“Wait!”

Theo pauses, looking back over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Liam chews on his bottom lip. "You're... coming back, right?" He feels like a child asking, but he's barely had any social interaction in days, and he's not about to pass up a chance. Even if Theo had been a jerk at the start of all this.

The chimera chuckles. "No, your soup's just gonna magically float back up here on it's own."

Liam sours instantly, pulling the cover up over his face. "Don't mention the m word in here."

Theo rolls his eyes, but the corner of his lips curls up. “I’ll be right back, Liam. _Try_ not to fall asleep while I’m gone, yeah?”

In his defense, Liam tries. Really, he does.

But the room’s sort of spinning, so he has to close his eyes to make it stop. Just for a second. The problem is that it’s very warm under his blankets. Warm, and very _very_ comfortable between his fluffy duvet and mountain of pillows. Soft, plush pillows...

The next thing he knows, he’s being dragged back from the darkness by a gentle shake of his shoulder and Theo’s even gentler voice. “Liam? C'mon, dude, you’ve got to eat.”

His eyes flutter open, and he rubs them groggily. He blinks blearily up at Theo, who’s standing at the edge of his bed, tray in hand. Liam can just barely make out the delicious smell of chicken noodle soup, and see the steam rising from the bowl.

But to get to it, he has to stop being horizontal. And that sounds like entirely too much effort. “M’tired,” Liam mumbles, pressing his face into his pillow. He stretches, palms flat against his headboard, causing his toes to peek out from the bottom of his comforter.

Theo snorts. “That’s because you drank an entire bottle of cold medicine.”

Liam’s gaze whips up to him, lightning fast. “Is not,” he scowls, but it doesn’t last very long. Moving his head that quickly was a terrible idea. It makes him feel dizzy.

The chimera raises a brow at him, sighing. “Do you not want the soup then? Do you want to just go back to sleep?” He manages to sound only a _little_ annoyed.

“I dunno.” He huffs dramatically, blowing tangled bangs out of his face. Liam knows he should eat—he’s starving. It’s the whole reason he’d gotten out of bed in the first place, which feels like _so_ long ago. “Ugh. Eating is so much effort.”

“Well, I’m not feeding you, you’d probably just make a mess. So it’ll be here when you’re ready to sit up, okay?” Liam buries his face further to keep from letting out a whine, figuring Theo will just put the tray on his bedside table and go about his business.

Instead, he feels the bed dip as Theo crawls on, swatting at the beta’s side in an attempt to move him. Liam cracks one eye open, shifting onto one side of his bed and staring up at Theo. The chimera settles on top of the duvet, tray resting comfortably in his lap.

“What are you doing? Liam squints from his mountain of plush. “Are you eating my soup?”

Theo rolls his eyes. “If I leave this here, you’ll knock it over or it’ll go cold,” he says, gesturing his hand over the soup bowl. It sends a wave of mouth-watery aroma Liam’s way. “And I’m pretty sure you haven’t eaten dinner since last night.”

The depowered werewolf’s stomach rumbles loudly in response, and Theo smirks.

“My point exactly,” the chimera chuckles. He leans back against the headboard, a single pillow at his back, and Liam hears the faint sound of the Xbox turning on. He spots the controller in Theo’s right hand, and a moment later, Netflix sits centre screen on his TV. The older boy hums as he scrolls through the menu and selects something.

Liam frowns. “Are you babysitting me?” He’s incredibly aware of how petulant he sounds.

Theo shrugs. “Call it what you want, but I’m staying here and continuing my _Moviefication_ until you either eat, or get sick of me and throw me out. Whatever comes first.” There’s the sound of pages flipping, and Liam pokes his head out his blankets enough to the see the Marvel logo appear. They’d finished _Iron Man 2_ the other night, which means he’s probably started _Thor._

A smile tugs at Liam’s lips almost instantly. They’ve been working their way through classic movies and series for weeks now, giving Theo the proper movie education he’d missed after years of living with the Dread Doctors. Mason had been the one to coin the term, and Liam had used it liberally since. Theo, on the other hand, had rolled his eyes every time, saying it was stupid, mixing words together. So for him to use it willingly... Liam’s stomach does this funny sort of flip.

He stares at the side of Theo’s face, from his slight scruff, to the strong jawline, to the light dancing in his eyes as Thor starts smashing Frost Giants—

“What if I never get sick of you?” Liam says quietly. He realizes as soon as the words are out that he didn’t doesn’t to say them, because Theo’s shoulders tense and his eyes widen.

Slowly, he turns to look down at the beta, frowning slightly. With every second of silence that crawls by, Liam sinks further into his pillows. He wants to disappear, immediately. Or take it back. Whatever’s less painful. He opens his mouth to do just that, then shuts it abruptly, biting his bottom lip to keep from saying anything else dumb. Not that it matters, because his heart is hammering in his chest and he knows Theo can hear him. It’s only a matter of time before the older boy mocks him for saying something so lame.

Instead, the chimera’s lips twitch upwards. “Then I guess I’ll be stuck here forever.” He shrugs, and goes back to watching his movie.

Liam blinks slowly, unsure of what just happened.

He decides he's better off not thinking about it, especially in his current, slightly off-kilter state. So instead, he flips over onto his back, slowly and almost painfully dragging himself into a sitting position. He fluffs the pillows behind him until he's happy with their angle, and leans back against them. Liam reaches for the tray, and Theo slides it over without saying a word.  But the hint of a smile is still there, and it's doing strange things to Liam's stomach.

Carefully, he eats a few spoonfuls, eyes mostly trained to the movie. He manages to not dribble it all over his chin, which is a success in itself. Maybe everything isn't terrible after all.

By the time Thor crash lands on Earth, Liam's finished his soup. As Coulson steps into the room onscreen, Theo lets out a derisive snort. "Wait, this is the dude from Iron Man, isn't it? What the hell?"

Liam can't help but grin. "It's all connected!" He says with an exaggerated tone of mystery, waving his arms around. He almost knocks his soup bowl over and his entire tray off his lap, but barely saves it at the last second. Theo rolls his eyes, reaching to take it away from him.

He tucks his shoulders in, feeling a little bit like he's being scolded, but the chimera stays blissfully quiet. So Liam settles in to watch the movie, instead. He curls his toes beneath the blanket and wiggles into his pillow wall until he's nearly engulfed by them. It's warm, cozy. He finds his eyes drifting shut a few times, but he shakes himself awake, shifting slightly as he does. He's seen the movie before, but he doesn't really want to miss Theo's reactions to it. It's not until Thor steps forward to fight the Destroyer alongside his friends that Liam realizes he's viewing the TV at a completely different angle than at the start.

In fact, the screen is sort of sideways. And he's a lot warmer than before. And, most obviously, there's a broad shoulder beneath his head instead of a pillow.

Liam turns red, embarrassed that he somehow slipped all the way down to lean on Theo without even noticing. His heartrate kicks up a notch, and Theo grunts. He rolls his right shoulder, on the opposite side, and shuffles in place a little. Liam pulls away instantly, flushing deeply. "Sorry," he mumbles, trying to sit up straight. "That's probably not comfortable."

"No, it's fine. My arm was falling asleep a bit. Just—” He reaches out, hand coming to pull at the back of Liam's head. The beta freezes, not daring to breathe as Theo guides him down, resting Liam against his chest. His arm settles behind him, draped loosely over his shoulder.

While it's not unusual for them to fall asleep watching movies, ending up leaning against one another, this level of contact _is_ foreign to him. It's the exact kind he typically avoids, given that he can't control his chemosignals or heartbeat on a regular day with his powers, let alone as a frail, sickly human. Liam swallows, because Theo can *definitely* feel his heart beating like crazy in his chest. But the chimera is warm, and far more comfortable than his pillows, and so Liam tries not to think about how dangerous this is. He lets himself be lulled by the heat and the soothing, steady beat of Theo's heart beneath his cheek as they watch Thor and Loki argue atop the Bifrost.

It's quiet, and Liam's more at east than he's felt all week, strangely. He lets out a happy little sigh. "Have I ever told you you're the best?"

Theo snorts, and it rumbles beneath him. "Doubtful."

"No, really. You're my favourite."

"Pretty sure that's the NyQuil talking, Liam."

"S'not," he shakes his head a little, and then dissolves into a string of light giggles. "Snot."

"You're a child." He doesn't look up to confirm, but he's pretty sure he hears a smile in that insult.

It only makes the butterflies in his stomach flutter faster. He's not sure what's happening, and it could all be in his head, a byproduct of the NyQuil and his cold, but at the moment, he really does think Theo's the most comfortable person ever, of all time. Possible his favourite person ever, too. Well, he's tied with Mason, at the very least.

He frowns as the movie nears its end. He'd been saying something, hadn't he? What had that been? All that moving earlier wore him out, and as he opens his mouth to say something to Theo, all he manages is a yawn.

"M'sleepy," Liam whispers. His eyelids feel heavy, and the words tumble slowly from his lips. "And I don't... know why you're being so nice to me but... Thanks for taking care of me, Theo. It's nice."

"Someone has to do it," Theo chuckles. Liam scowls, fingers bunching in the other boy's sweater. A soft growl rumbles in his chest, but it sounds entirely human and pathetic. Not the least bit menacing, like he'd intended. The older boy's laugh turns gentle. "It's no problem, really."

There's a pause, and Theo stops moving beneath him. The only sound is his heartbeat in Liam's ear, a little faster than normal. The beta's eyes close against his will, and sleep claws at him so fiercely that he almost misses the chimera's next words. "I owe you, Liam."

Liam hums, smiling. He's warm and comfortable and not paying that much attention, his head a little cloud of fuzz. Which means the words sort of just slip out. "I love you, too."

He feels Theo tense. "Uh," the chimera chokes. "What?"

Liam's eyes fly open, and he inhales sharply. "Oh, God."

He replays the last few minutes over in his head, and realizes quickly where he went wrong. Very _very_ wrong.

Liam sits up, ripping himself away from the chimera like he's been burned by the touch and all but flinging himself backwards, arms flailing. He knocks just enough pillows out of his way that the back of his skull connects with the headboard. Painfully.

It stings, and he winces audibly, one hand coming to press at the sore spot. He gets light headed almost immediately. As if being sick isn't terrible enough, now he's mortally wounded too.

The moment he recovers, he opens his mouth and starts apologizing. "I didn't mean it!" He shouts, and watches the way Theo's eyes widen. "I mean, I did--but, well. I didn't mean to say it. I was never supposed to say it!"

"Liam--"

He feels the heat in his cheeks spread as he keeps talking, flooding his face and neck. "I just wasn't supposed to say it like that. Not right now. Maybe not ever? I'm..." He lets out a frustrated whine, closing his eyes. Why can't this all just be one big, embarassing fever dream? "Can we just... can we pretend this never happened?"

He knows it's a ridiculous request, because something like that doesn't just go away.

: Maybe the universe can cut him a break, just this once.

"No," Theo says shortly.

Or, maybe the universe can go fuck itself.

"No?" Liam squeaks, eyes opening again. Theo's staring at him, mouth pressed in a tight line. "What do you mean, no? This is mortifying! We really don't need to bring it up ever again. I don't want to make things awkward... why would you--?"

Theo moves, fast enough that Liam blinks and practically misses it. One minute he's across the bed, and the next he's directly in front of him, lips pressed to the side of his head. He kisses the spot Liam had smacked into the headboard with, and the beta's breath catches in his throat. When Theo pulls away, sitting closer than before, there's a light dusting of colour on his cheeks. He chews his bottom lip slightly, then breathes out. "Because I love you, too."

Liam's eyes widen. "You... you what?"

Theo lets out a shaky laugh, face reddening. "I love you, you idiot. Why else would I put up with you on a daily basis?" His tone is light, teasing, but still sort of nervous. He looks as nervous as Liam feels, really, heart pounding in his chest.

"But you've never... I mean, you haven't said..." Liam fumbles, looking for the words. His mouth is entirely too slow to catch up to his brain, given that it's so jumbled, and working a mile a minute.

Theo shrugs. "I didn't think it was the right time. I didn't think... either of us were ready."

"And me... sort of delirious on NyQuil accidentally telling you how I feel.. that's the right time?" Liam blinks.

Theo's lips twitch up into a smile. "Probably not, but here we are." His gaze softens, the nervousness bleeding out of his posture as he slides closer, taking one of Liam's hands in his. There's real, genuine fondness on his face, and Liam wishes he weren't a gross, powerless human because he wants to know. He wants to hear the truth in his words and in his scent and—Theo presses Liam's hand to his chest, just over his heart. It's beating just as quickly as his own.

Liam inhales sharply, and it's enough to set him off on another coughing fit. He turns away, hacking and wheezing, and distinctly aware that Theo slips away from him and out of bed. By the time he's done destroying his lungs, the chimera's standing there with a glass of water and a pack of lozenges.

That same fond smile still sits firmly in place on his lips. "Really?" Liam quirks a brow. "Even when I'm gross?"

"All the time, even when you're gross," Theo nods, laughing. "I'd be more than happy to show you, once you're less gross though."

Warmth floods his chest.

"You mean it?" Liam gets butterflies just thinking of how close he'd been, of the small kiss. He can only imagine the real thing.

"Of course," Theo winks. "So you might want to hurry that up."

"I already chugged a bottle of NyQuil, what more do you want from me?" His shoulders sag, and he sniffles. His nose wrinkles almost immediately. "A... shower?"

 Theo barely contains his laughter. "Well, yes. But also... sleep. You should do that."

Liam hesitates, looking at his pillows and blankets, all askew from his hasty, post-confession retreat. He cradles the glass of water in his hands, pouting. Without a word, Theo reaches down, shuffling his pillows back to their earlier glory and moving the duvet back so that Liam can crawl under it.

"But...," Liam starts, chewing on his bottom lip. He looks up at Theo with round, pleading eyes. "does this mean you're _leaving?"_

Theo plucks the glass from his fingers, setting it on the bedside table. Then he's climbing back onto the bed, this time slipping beneath the covers. He lays back against the pillows, holding the arm he'd previously had around Liam aloft as a silent offer.

Hours later, Jenna comes home to find them curled up together, Netflix asking if they're still watching. Theo's snoring softly, the rise and fall of his chest soothing to Liam, whose cheeks are no longer flushed, and his skin's not clammy, and he definitely hears her whisper a quiet _finally_ , wolf senses having returned to him at some point during their nap.


End file.
